


On the Wings of the Night

by being_alive



Category: Tanz der Vampire - Steinman/Kunze
Genre: F/M, POV Second Person, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 05:33:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19222624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/being_alive/pseuds/being_alive
Summary: Cursing the fact that it took you so long to reach this castle, you try to look inside the gate but the light from your flashlight only goes so far, and all you can see is a hint of stone."Good evening."You jump in fright at the sound of a man's voice and whirl around, shining your flashlight directly into his face by accident.





	On the Wings of the Night

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a WIP since...2016, I think. I recently came back to it and I'm hoping that posting the first chapter, short though it may be, will help me hold myself accountable for finishing it.

You nearly trip over one of the roots of the many, many trees around you as you walk towards the gate illuminated only by the beam of your flashlight. Once you finally make it out of the trees, you stop roughly a foot away from the gate, looking upwards and at the sky. The sky itself is dark and the moon is only a faint sliver in the night sky. 

You frown as you shine the light on the ornate metal gate in front of you, wondering exactly how long it has taken you to reach this old castle before remembering that it had been daylight when you had started hiking up to your destination.

You hadn't originally intended to come here to exactly this place, but when you'd arrived in one of the nearby cities due to a mix up of flight tickets, you decided to make the most of it and see the local sights. You just wish you had more like than just a flashlight, so that you could see the castle better. Even two flashlights would be better than this, you lament to yourself. 

Cursing the fact that it took you so long to reach this castle, you try to look inside the gate but the light from your flashlight only goes so far, and all you can see is a hint of stone.

"Good evening."

You jump in fright at the sound of a man's voice and whirl around, shining your flashlight directly into his face by accident. He's tall, much taller than you, or at least you think so because of how high up you have to hold the flashlight, and dressed in black and what appears to be red. His face is pale and framed by long, dark hair. You suppose his face could be considered handsome, but you can't really tell because of the fact that his face is scrunched up against the light.

"Wh-who are you?" You stammer out.

"I am the Graf von Krolock," he answers and you can see his sharp eye teeth gleaming in the light. You step backwards until you run into the gate.

"Do not be afraid of me," he says before adding, "And please point that away from my face, if you really must have light."

"Sorry," you say, angling the flashlight's body lower and to the side so that the beam is no longer shining directing into his face but so that you can still see his face.

"Now, who might you be?" He asks, crossing his arms over his chest. You tell him your name and he nods before saying, "A lovely name for a lovely girl."

"Thank you," you say, hoping it doesn't really sound as much like a question as you think it does, as you're unable to think of anything better to say in response to that, because it's not often that you're complimented by strange, albeit handsomely strange, men in the woods outside of spooky old castles, and by not often you really mean never.

"But what is a lovely girl such as yourself doing alone in the woods this late at night?" The Graf asks, stepping closer to you and tilting his head ever so slightly to the side. You try to step back before remembering that your back is already pressed against the gate and instead answer, "I wanted to see the castle, but I didn't think it'd take me so long to get here. I'll just be going now, then."

"There's no need to be so hasty," the man says, reaching out with one hand and making a gesture signifying for you to stop. "You say you wish to see the castle?"

You nod in response and then he's continuing, "Then I say to you that I invite you to do more than just gaze upon it. This castle is my home, and I welcome you to come inside and truly see it."

You blink at him several times in shock, your mind buzzing busily with thousands of thoughts, weighing the costs and benefits of this. While it's true that he's offering you the experience of a lifetime, it's also true that he is still a strange man who suddenly appeared before you in the woods outside of an equally strange castle in the middle of the night.

"What about my bags? They're still at the inn I was staying at," you reply instead, still unsure of what you want to answer, even if this excuse sounds weak to your own ears.

"I will have them brought here for you," he assures you, and for some reason, you know he will, even if you haven't told him the name of the inn. Though it is likely that he already knows, given that he's said this is his home and you doubt there are many inns nearby, you reassure yourself. 

Even so, you're still unsure of what to do. You know logically, the choice should be simple, to leave and go back to the inn, but there's something about the man in front of you that makes you want to stay.

"Turn off your light, and take my hand," the Graf urges, no, pleads, as if noticing your hesitation, extending one hand for you to take as his startlingly blue gaze turns upon your own eyes. In that moment, you make your decision, take his hand, and do what he asks. 

As you flick the flashlight off, you're plunged into darkness once more. Despite this, you swear you can see a the flash of the Graf's smile, and then the gate is swinging open. You stumble, but thanks to your hand in his, you don't fall.

"Come," the Graf says, and you turn to face the shadowy darkness that was previously behind you but that this man is now leading you through. Soon, you can hear the creak of doors as the open, and then you and he are walking through the doorway and into a room that is only slightly less dim than the woods outside.

"Welcome," the Graf tells you, his eyes flashing in the darkness, and the air rings with the sound of the doors behind you slamming shut.


End file.
